Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
MUST READ
Mercedes workers in Alabama vote against union effort
The Washington Post
By Lauren Kaori Gurley
May 17, 2024
“It hurts to lose, of course, but we always see it as a temporary setback, not a loss,” Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, the country’s largest federation of unions, which includes the UAW, told The Post. “Sometimes it takes more than one try to form your union because the laws are so stacked against workers.”
ORGANIZING
Mercedes Workers in Alabama Reject Union
The New York Times
By Jack Ewing,
May 17, 2024
“This loss stings,” Shawn Fain, the president of the U.A.W., said at the storefront headquarters of the union’s local branch down the road from the Mercedes factories in Vance and Woodstock, Ala. But “most of us lost elections in our lives,” he added. “We learn from it. We move forward, and that’s what we intend to do.”
United Auto Workers lose union election at Mercedes by 597 votes
Alabama Political Reporter
By Chance Phillips
May 17, 2024
The final count in the week-long union election at the Mercedes factory in Vance was 2,642 against unionizing versus 2,045 in favor. 51 ballots were challenged and not counted and 5 ballots were void. The election still has to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board, but it is very unlikely that this process will change the results. Speaking at the UAW Local 112 headquarters in Coaling, UAW President Shawn Fain said “these courageous workers reached out to us because they wanted justice. They led this fight.” Fain remained optimistic about the union’s prospects and its momentum as it tries to organize workers in the South. “We’ll be back in Vance,” he said. “I assured the company of that before I walked out the door and shook their hands.” In a statement, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler called the anti-union behavior by Mercedes and Gov. Ivey “part of a long oppressive history in the South, from slavery to Jim Crow ‘right to work’ laws to prison labor.”
Workers at Better Buzz Coffee in Hillcrest Vote to Join UFCW Local 135
Times of San Diego
By Editor
May 18, 2024
Workers at Better Buzz Coffee’s Hillcrest location voted overwhelmingly Friday to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 135, the union announced. Baristas, trainers and shift supervisors, who organized under the name Better Buzz United, cast ballots in an election held by the National Labor Relations Board. The workers had cited concerns about wages, benefits, scheduling and overall workplace safety as reasons for seeking union representation.
Disneyland Character Workers Vote to Unionize With Actors’ Equity
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
May 18, 2024
Another union is coming to Disneyland. On Saturday, a majority of the amusement park’s character workers voted to unionize with Actors’ Equity Association in a National Labor Relations Board vote, ushering more employees at Disneyland into the union fold. Nine hundred and fifty-three workers voted “yes” to join Equity, while 258 voted “no.” The parties now have several days to file any objections, and if none are submitted, the results will be certified. “They say that Disneyland is ‘the place where dreams come true,’ and for the Disney cast members who have worked to organize a union, their dream came true today,” Actors’ Equity Association president Kate Shindle said in a statement on Saturday. “The next step will be to collaborate with them about improving health & safety, wages, benefits, working conditions and job security. After that we will meet with representatives of the Walt Disney Company to negotiate those priorities into a first contract.”
Disneyland Resort Character Cast Members Vote To Unionize With Actors’ Equity Association
Deadline
By Armando Tinoco
May 18, 2024
The Disneyland Resort cast members that bring the magic to life have voted to unionize with the Actors’ Equity Association. “They say that Disneyland is ‘the place where dreams come true,’ and for the Disney Cast Members who have worked to organize a union, their dream came true today,” Actors’ Equity Association President Kate Shindle said in a statement on Saturday. “These workers are on the front lines of the Guest experience; they’re the human beings who create lifelong memories when your kids hug a character, or when your family watches a parade roll by the castle.
JOINING TOGETHER
REI Union Chicago members walk off the job during Anniversary Sale to protest contract negotiations
Fox32 Chicago
By Cody King
May 18, 2024
Members of REI Union Chicago walked off the job in the middle of REI's Anniversary Sale to protest after the company reportedly failed to negotiate a contract in good faith. The protest was held Saturday morning and those in attendance included union members, elected officials and other leaders/workers from the Chicago area. The store's sale runs from May 17-27 and is a significant revenue period for the company. However, workers said they are struggling with low wages and unsafe working conditions. "While the company stands to potentially bring in millions if not hundreds of millions, their workers will continue to struggle to make rent, buy groceries, and commute to their low-paying, sometimes unsafe jobs," said the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), who is representing the REI workers, in a release. According to the RWDSU, workers demanded that REI reach a fair contract by the end of this year, since contract negotiations have remained stalled since September 2023.
IATSE West Coast Negotiations Pause Without Deal, Bargaining Dates Expected for June
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
May 17, 2024
Though IATSE had initially planned to conclude its general negotiations for West Coast Locals on Thursday, the day came and went without a deal, the union announced on Friday. Instead, talks over key issues like wages, AI and working conditions have been paused for now and additional bargaining dates are expected to be scheduled for early June. “We are working toward setting additional bargaining dates to continue to negotiate the deal our members deserve,” international IATSE president Matthew Loeb said in a statement on Friday. “Talks remain ongoing and we are focused on achieving the goals we came to the table with: improved wages and safer working conditions, consistent funding for our benefit plans, reasonable AI and subcontracting protections, and appropriate enhancements to our Video Tape Agreement and Side Letters.”
Electrician strike in Puget Sound stretches beyond 5 weeks
Arizona Daily Sun
By Grace Deng
May 18, 2024
More than 1,000 electricians in the Puget Sound region have been on strike for the past five weeks, disrupting construction at major job sites, including Microsoft and Amazon office buildings. Limited energy electricians with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 46, are asking the National Electrical Contractors Association for paid holidays, more pay, and increased safety measures like ensuring radios are available on all job sites.
300 union workers join Boeing firefighter picket lines in Seattle
Kiro 7
By Louie Tran
May 18, 2024
Around 300 union workers across Washington joined Boeing firefighters on the picket line in Seattle as workers urged the global aerospace company to provide better working conditions and pay. WASHINGTON STATE LABOR COUNCIL EFFORTS: Boeing firefighters have been on the picket lines across Puget Sound since May 4 when the company announced its lockout.
Local 33 won recognition, ratified historic contract following 33 years of activism
Yale News
By Chris Tillen
May 19, 2024
After three decades of labor activism marked by tensions with the University, culminating in protests, a hunger strike and legal challenges to the union’s recognition, the recent ratification of Local 33’s inaugural agreement stood as the most favorable deal for graduate workers in the Ivy League. After revamped activism in fall 2021, union organizers achieved a landslide victory with 91 percent of eligible members voting in favor of forming a union in January 2023 and Yale agreeing to recognize the union until 2031. Effective from Dec. 16, 2023, to July 31, 2028, Local 33 UNITE HERE, Yale’s graduate workers’ union, ratified its first contract with the University in December 2023. The agreement secured higher pay, improved healthcare and increased protections for international students.
IN THE STATES
WSLC welcomes new Vice Presidents
The Stand
By Staff
May 17, 2024
The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO executive board voted Friday to appoint two new Vice Presidents to the board, Sterling Harders, SEIU 775 President and Michael Hines, UFCW 367 President. The WSLC executive board is comprised of vice presidents and the WSLC executive officers, who together establish the organization’s policies and priorities between annual conventions. By WSLC Constitution, vice presidents are elected by region, selected by constituency groups, or appointed by the WSLC Executive Board to serve a term of up to four years.